Kidnappers shot dead, abductee rescued

The police attacked the kidnappers when they came to collect the ransom money

KARACHI: Police shot two kidnappers and rescued a bank official from their captivity on Friday.

The Citizens Police Liaisons Committee (CPLC), in collaboration with the Counter-Terrorism Department and Special Investigation Unit (SIU), conducted a raid near the Northern Bypass. The suspects in an attempt to escape began firing at the officials, said a police official. The police retaliated and killed the two kidnappers after an exchange of fire, he added.

"After the kidnappers were killed, we searched the entire locality and found an abductee from an isolated place," said SIU chief Farooq Awan. "His hand and legs were tied with rope," he added. The abductee was identified as Ghaus Ahmed, Meezan bank vice-president, who was abducted from Super Highway on August 14. "The culprits first looted the cash and other valuables from his family and later took him away to an undisclosed location," said Awan,

Three days after the abduction, the kidnappers called Ahmed's family in Rahim Yar Khan and demanded a ransom of Rs100 million, said SIU DSP Raja Amjad. Following the call, the family informed the authorities.

"When they called the family on Northern Bypass to collect the ransom money, we [the police] accompanied them," said Amjad. "The encounter took place when they arrived to collect the ransom money."

The bodies of the kidnappers were shifted to Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth for identification after medico-legal formalities were completed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital.

In another incident, a suspected street criminal was killed during an exchange of fire with the police at Macchar Colony.  Two criminals on a motorcycle were trying to loot a citizen, said a police official. The officers, patrolling the area, reached the site and killed one alleged criminal after an exchange of fire, he added. The body was shifted to Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth for identification after medico-legal formalities were completed at Civil Hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 29^th, 2015.